spiky
/ˈspʌɪki
/(also spikey)
adjective (spikier, spikiest)
1Having many spikes or sharp projecting points: a spiky cactus...
- Pufferfish can balloon into a spiky sphere within moments of sensing a nearby threat.
- Having experienced unspoilt forest and encountered proboscis monkeys, I found myself face-to-face with a green wall of spikey fronged oil palms.
- The rare Boar fish is usually only about 15-20cm long, thick-skinned and spiky.
Synonyms
jagged, barbed, serrated, sawtooth, sawtoothed;
spiny, pointy, sharp
1.1Resembling a spike or spikes: his hair was dark and spiky wear pencil skirts with spikey heels...
- Saint Laurent booties finish it off in fashionable style, and the actress's spiky pixie has never looked better.
- The singer's spiky mullet was a big fashion must-have in the 1980s and helped turn him into a pop icon.
- Whether it's spikey, floppy, high-lighted or if he's rocking a full-on beard, he manages to pull off any style with boyband perfection.
2 informal Easily offended or annoyed: she sounded spiky and defensive he’s a quality player but he’s got a bit of a spikey attitude...
- I tend to play people who are a bit spiky or abrasive or lack filters, or say what they think.
- Jensen's inventive tale features a very real, very spiky protagonist.
- I remember the head coach making this point in slightly spiky fashion during a post-match press conference four seasons ago.
Derivatives
spikily
- Finally there is the wonderfully irascible Jody who sits spikily in judgement on her hapless friends.
- He shrugs - spikily, clearly determined to live up to his name - and I ask if I've still got 30 minutes, because about eight have now elapsed since we sat down and I haven't managed to ask a single question.
- During my journey back from the cold depths to the surface water warmed by the summer sun, I spot a large red scorpionfish, its poisonous dorsal spines spikily raised in defiant pose.
spikiness
- There is a spikiness to Thompson on the field that tells of his vehement nature; he will not cower from the challenge.
- Stems of 18 to 36 inches provide much-needed spikiness in annual arrangements.
- But mixed with this spikiness was rare generosity and kindness of an unstinting kind.